Clinton, Westbrook, Two Towns Defined By The Sound

Lines used to control the sails of this Stars & Stripes boat are wrapped around one of the many winches on deck.

Lines used to control the sails of this Stars & Stripes boat are wrapped around one of the many winches on deck. (STEPHEN DUNN / Hartford Courant)

JOSEPH A. O'BRIEN JR.

Clinton and Westbrook are two of the many prosperous towns along the Connecticut shoreline whose past, present and future are linked inextricably to the waters of Long Island Sound, a bountiful yet sometimes cruel master.

Sandwiched between Old Saybrook and Madison on the Shore Line East commuter rail line, Clinton and Westbrook each comprise roughly 16 square miles of land that was once the home of a Native American people known as the Hammonasset, a word that means "where we dig holes in the ground," aka farming.

As European colonists were arriving in the late 1630s and early 1640s, the native populace that preceded them was in political, economic and social turmoil. Old allegiances were broken and new ones formed as powerful tribes like the Pequots and Mohegans jockeyed for power that would have to be shared with or lost to the newcomers.

Diseases heretofore unheard of in what the Europeans called North America turned into plagues that decimated the ranks of Native Americans. . The Europeans aligned with tribes based on trade agreements that often wrecked previous agreements reached among the natives.

In 1640, the Mohegan sachem Uncas added a Hammonasset bride to his harem in a marriage of convenience that gave him control over land in the area that would become Clinton and Westbrook. He promptly sold it to the English to curry favor among them as the English, the Mohegans and other natives prepared for war with the Pequots. The Pequots picked the wrong side, the Dutch, in the looming contest for economic supremacy in the so-called New World.

With the English finally in control, more settlements sprung up on the land that would become the towns of the Connecticut shoreline, including Clinton and Westbrook. Though the geographic footprint of both is roughly the same, the shoe that is Clinton feels a bit more cramped. That's because there are more than twice as many people living in Clinton as there are in Westbrook, 13,196 and 6,914 as of July 1, 2012.

For both communities, Long Island Sound has been a blessing, providing commercial and recreational outlets. Chief among them is fishing and sailing. There is nothing like a world record striped bass, 81.88 pounds, being hooked in the waters off Westbrook by Wallingford sport fisherman Greg Myerson in 2011 to grab the attention of fellow anglers.

Westbrook First Selectman Noel Bishop wants to capitalize on Myerson's success by adding at least one sign to the landscape noting the achievement. Any fish promotion would likely satisfy Mrs. Mulvey, the town's feline mascot that lives at town hall and has her picture on the town's website.

Clinton, however, is known for another fish – the rapacious bluefish.

Thanks to former Gov. Ella T. Grasso, the state declared Clinton the bluefish capital of the world in 1973 to honor Art Novarro, who organized a bluefish festival the previous year to raise money for charity and build community spirit that's been going strong since.

This year's Clinton Bluefish Festival happens July 19 and July 20. In addition to a fishing tournament, it will feature the "Spirit of Clinton" award, music, arts and crafts, a zip line, and the miss and little miss bluefish contest, a bike parade, and a seafood chowder cook-off.

Not to be outdone, Westbrook hosts an annual fife and drum corps encampment, parade and weekend muster on Aug. 22-23 this year. The event typically features more than 50 corps from throughout the Northeast.

Despite all the attention fishing gets, boating is of greater importance to both communities as an economic driver and revenue source for local governments.

Noel, and his counterpart in Clinton, First Selectman William Fritz, agree that the water of Long Island Sound is the biggest asset of both communities. Clinton's town marina has 60 boat slips for rent and there are 12 private marinas, Fritz said. Pilots Point Marina in Westbrook is among the top five taxpayers in that town, with an assessed value of $10.7 million. There are also at least 10 private marinas.

There is also the Water's Edge Resort and Spa in Westbrook, which offers seaside luxury accommodations for $5,000 week for anyone wanting to get away from it all.

Those who turn up their noses at fishing, boating or classy pampering can perhaps find happiness at an outlet mall: Clinton Crossing Premium Outlets at 20 Killingworth Turnpike Clinton or Tanger Outlets at 314 Flat Rock Place in Westbrook.

Although the water of Long Island Sound is Clinton and Westbrook's most valued neighbor, it can also be the cruelest.

In 1938, its waters, whipped into a frenzy by a hurricane, stormed ashore – first hitting Long Island then the New England coastline on Sept. 21, ruining most of what was in its path. Deaths from the storm were estimated at 700; 3,300 boats were destroyed; 8,900 buildings and houses were lost. The storm surge in Rhode Island was 17 feet above the normal high tide. In Clinton and Westbrook, shoreline homes were lifted from their foundations by the surging tide and wrecked.

Storm damages totaled $620 million in 1938, which is equivalent to $10.4 billion today, a figure that derived from the latest U.S. government consumer price index data.

In 2012, the shoreline got another little taste of what the sound is capable of when storm Sandy came along, churning up bottom sand and depositing it in flooded neighborhoods in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. This followed Tropical Storm Irene's appearance in August 2011.

"Clinton is a small shoreline community with a large natural asset," Fritz said.